MUSKEGON, Mich. — If you have a suspended driver's license, you may be able to hit the road again sooner than you think thanks to some changes in the law. Those changes were passed back in October 2021.
"They changed how certain offenses used to be misdemeanors, and now they're civil infractions," says Khyla Craine, deputy legal director for the Michigan Secretary of State's office.
And drivers with infractions piled up on their licenses can have them retroactively removed.
"Things like speeding have been wiped away," explains Craine. "Not wearing a seatbelt, maybe running a stoplight, that would potentially suspend your license."
Now, the SOS is set to help people get their licenses back at multiple fairs around the state, and the first is in Muskegon. Craine says legal experts will be on hand to walk people through what they need to do to get back on the road.
"Help them review their driving record and let them know that they need to pay a fine, they need to go back to court, or they may have a driver's license that already is clear and free," she says.
Craine says the law change will especially help people in financial trouble, who have let fines pile up.
"We know that if you had the economic means to pay for the fines, you would have paid them already," says Craine.
And the fairs will provide a safe space to ask questions they may have been uncomfortable to bring up before.
"A lot of the times, they say I just don't know, and I'm afraid to ask," says Craine. "And so I'm just going to continue driving how I'm driving right now, which, at any point in time, you can get pulled over."
The event will be held Thursday, April 28, at Mount Zion Church in Muskegon. The last day to register ahead and guarantee yourself a spot is April 19, but Craine also says walk-ins will be accepted.
You can register for the event by clicking here.
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